Stand Up For Veterans

Heroes:

STORIES:
Chris and Misty Bain,
U.S. Army, Iraq
Caught in an ambush, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Chris Bain was injured in Iraq in 2004. As he was trying to protect the rest of his unit, he was shot in his right arm and his left arm was torn apart by a mortar explosion.
Chris returned home to Williamsport, Pennsylvania to a hero’s welcome.
During his rehabilitation at Walter Reed, his wife Misty stood by his side as he underwent multiple surgeries and received an implant to help ease the pain. Three years later, she still cares for him every day as he endures chronic pain and emotional stress from his injuries.
Misty’s support never faltered. She is a hero’s hero.
There are thousands of other wives, mothers, fathers and husbands of veterans standing up for their loved ones. These caregivers of America’s disabled veterans deserve our support.
You can help by contacting members of Congress and telling them to support the legislation strengthening programs to support American’s caregivers.
Greg Williams,
U.S. Army, Iraq
In his bedroom, Greg Williams has boxing and wrestling trophies from his high school years. Today, he’d be happy to run just a few feet.
While Greg was serving in Iraq in 2006, he was injured by a roadside bomb, shattering both bones in his lower leg.
Now, as he tries to build a new life for himself, Greg finds that getting back to normal is anything but easy. After finishing physical rehabilitation, Greg struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and needs additional follow-up treatment. Out on his own, he has fallen through the cracks, left to rehabilitate himself.
Unfortunately, Greg’s story is familiar to many disabled veterans. Endless bureaucracy and inadequate funding have left far too many men and women who served in the military to fend for themselves.
There is a better way. America can stand up for its disabled veterans by supporting legislation that provides them with better medical care, sufficient federal funding and assistance for their caregivers.
Noe Santos-Dilone
U.S. Army, Iraq
Sometimes the most critical injuries are those beneath the surface. Early TBI screening gave Noe Santos-Dilone and the VA the information they needed to effectively treat him. If every veteran had the same screening, the VA could identify and rehabilitate those in need.
On September 6, 2005, Noe Santos-Dilone was stationed as a gunner on a Humvee traveling from Camp Taji to Baghdad. As they approached an intersection, his convoy was attacked, flipping his vehicle five times and killing two passengers instantly. Before he lost consciousness, he remembers seeing that his leg was severely wounded.
In the first foggy days of his rehabilitation, the effects of TBI were just as troubling as the loss of his leg. Aside from his parents, he didn’t recognize names or faces or know his days of the week.
With time and therapy, Noe’s mental skills began to return but his TBI symptoms persisted, and were still serious enough that he was scheduled to be relocated to a VA treatment facility in Richmond, Virginia.
Days before Noe was to transfer to Richmond, his therapist cleared him from further TBI treatment using an unorthodox screening process. His therapist, a Boston Red Sox fan, had been teasing Noe – a Brooklyn resident and longtime New York Yankees fan – throughout his rehabilitation. One day, as the long-running argument came to a head, Noe named the entire starting line-up for the Yankees. His newfound recall convinced his therapist that additional therapy for TBI would not be necessary.
For Noe, the initial screening for TBI was a critical milestone in his rehabilitation, which led to a recovery that enables him to focus on physical therapy and his new prosthetic. It also gave his VA health care providers the information to treat him comprehensively.
Not every veteran receives the same screening and treatment, but they should.
Photos: Department of Defense-Released